Tag Teamed - A Collection of Drabbles
by Ladyamesindy
Summary: A collection of drabbles mostly from prompts over on tumblr and focused on John and Jane Shepard, aka: ShepShep. Part of the ShepShep series.
1. Sweet Pea

"Now, be honest with me. Did you ever think we'd be here?"

John chuckled, his arm sliding just a bit more snugly around her slender waist. "Did you honestly think we ever wouldn't?" he countered. He accepted the slightly more than gentle elbow to his midsection with soldierly grace before continuing. "What?"

"How did you even know?" Jane asked, chancing a side glance up at him.

His chuckled deepened. "I _am_ N7, remember," he recounted.

She snickered softly. "I am too, but the last time I checked that didn't make us mind readers. Or did I miss that particular class in training?"

He shifted, now standing directly behind her, hands resting at her hips holding her close but his touch light. "I remember you telling me when we were kids," he explained quietly.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "I did? When?"

His chin rested against her crown, a hint of whiskers brushing against and pulling lightly at her hair as he nodded. "You did. It was your fifteenth birthday and we were watching movies all night in celebration. When one of them showed a scene like this, you said you wanted to come here for a visit when you were older." He bent closer, nearer to her ear, and dropped his voice as he finished, "It sounded like a good idea at the time."

Sighing softly, Jane leaned back in his arms and snuggled in his embrace. "I remember now," she murmured, eyes still staring out before them, soaking in the view. "Your exact words were, as I recall, 'You are such a sap, McIntyre.'"

John shrugged, but otherwise didn't move. He, too, was entranced by the view before them. The shades of oranges, reds, blues and purples as the sun slowly sank behind the peaks. Had she not suggested it to him, he doubted he would ever have thought he could find pleasure in such a thing. "That's how a sixteen year old boy tells the girl he likes she's got a good idea," he informed her.

They were silent for a moment, both content in the view and each other's company, especially since their time together would be so limited. Marriage was difficult when you could only be together once every so many months. Yet another reason the impact of his choice was so special to her.

With the balcony rail to her back, Jane leaned against it and turned so that she could face him, a smile curving at the corner of her lips. "So … how does a twenty-six year old husband tell his wife that her ideas are the best, hmm?"

John ducked his head so he could ghost a quick kiss across her lips before he replied, "Oh, I have an idea or two about that. But why don't we finish watching the sunset first? Chances are it'll be awhile before we can get back here again."

Smiling, Jane leaned up and kissed his cheek before turning back around to watch with him. Later, she would find a way to thank him, but for now she held the fact that he had remembered her declaration from ten years before close enough to actually find a way to fulfill it close to her heart.


	2. Must Be a Day Ending in Y

_Eyes upon her datapad as she entered, it took Jane a long moment to realize she wasn't in the apartment alone. It wasn't until she heard someone clearing their throat that she glanced up, startled, her hand automatically flaring to offer some sort of protection against whatever intruder might have made their way inside. _

_The flare died instantly, however, when green eyes met the all too familiar blue. Smile spreading across her lips, she tossed the report onto the table and launched herself in his direction, flying over the top of the back of the couch and into his arms. It had been too long! "John!"_

_Chuckling, John adjusted his stance so he could catch her without being taken down. "Hello," he greeted her, grin matching hers. _

"_What are you doing here? I thought you were on the Tokyo!"_

_John pulled her towards him and hugged her close. "Dry docked for repairs," he explained before leaning down to kiss her. "Figured I would take a chance that you were home and -"_

"_How long are you here?" She frowned. "Wait, repairs? Nothing serious, I hope?"_

_He shook his head. "Routine," he assured her. "We'll be docked a couple of days. I figured - if you were here, that is we could have dinner, go dancing, that sort of thing."_

_Jane's gaze narrowed. "Okay, now I know you're up to something. Why the fancy treatment? You haven't missed our anniversary or anything."_

_John's smile widened as he lifted her up into his arms before flopping onto the couch with her. She squealed (she always did) and he laughed. "Must be a day ending in y, I guess," he replied._


	3. Recruitment

_**Writing prompt from a friend: "I would never lie; I willfully participated in a campaign of misinformation."This piece actually falls between two past fics I'm working on at the moment for ShepShep and helped me resolve a few little things!**_

* * *

Jane stood stock still, staring up at John for a very long moment. With everything that they'd gone through, all of their experiences over the past few weeks, for some reason this one unsettled her the most. "You … you lied," she whispered softly so only he could hear even though they stood on the sidewalk just outside the recruitment office.

Though exhaustion was dogging both of them after recent adventures, John managed a reassuring smile that reached his eyes and left the blue sparkling. "I would never lie," he assured her. "I willfully participated in a campaign of misinformation."

Jane gasped. "John, you're splitting hairs and you know it!" she argued. "If they ever find out -"

His hand rose, two fingers covering her lips as the rest of his body blocked the action from the people behind him through the windows. "They won't," he promised more soberly. "And, if by some chance they ever do, by then it will be too late."

"But -"

Pressing the datapad with her official 'documents' into her hand, he closed her fingers around it. "Trust me," he said. "This is the only way to keep you safe from the _Reds_." And the money he'd paid to have this done was well worth the price to his way of thinking.

Jane sighed. He had a point. She knew it would be a long while before the _Reds_ ever forgot about her, if ever. But still, she was seventeen, a year younger than met the Alliance requirement for enlistment. If they ever found out ….

Her eyes darted beyond his shoulders once last time and she drew her lower lip between her teeth to chew on the corner. She stopped only when John's hand moved beneath her chin, directing her to look back at him. "Are we good?" he asked.

She closed her eyes and nodded. "We're good," she agreed. Hefting her small pack with her meagre belongings higher onto her shoulder, she stepped around him. "Alright, let's do this."

She entered the building first as John held the door open, pasting on a smile for the recruiters' benefits. The first one to make eye contact with her was a tall man, dark skinned and dark eyed and wearing the bars of an officer on his shoulder. H seemed friendly enough, though. "Hello," he greeted, eyes finding Jane's first and then looking beyond her shoulder. "Something we can help you with?"

John's hand rested at her lower back as he spoke. "Yes, sir. My friend and I, we've talked about it and … we decided we'd like to enlist."

The officer smiled and gestured them further into the offices. "Well, I would say you've come to the right place then. What's your name, son?" They followed.

"Shepard."

Jane met the man's gaze and announced before he could ask, "McIntyre, sir."

He nodded and reached a hand out to shake each of theirs first. "Lieutenant Commander David Anderson. Why don't you two take a seat and we will get this process started …."


	4. Play Date

_**ShepShep stuck inside on a rainy day playing board games! (I suspect they would get super competitive with each other over something super simple. Like Candyland or something.)**_

_**For anyone not familiar with ShepShep in more detail, John is a spacer background and Jane is a modified spacer/earthborn background (so they wouldn't be exactly alike). The event that sends Jane back to Earth is her mother's death on the Mindoir rescue mission. I didn't necessarily intend for this to be that particular day, it just sort of happened. I also have this headcanon that kids on ships with their parents are restricted to living quarters while missions are ongoing - that is what is happening here.**_

* * *

"Full house."

John tossed his cards into the pile with a disgruntled sound. "You cheated."

Jane giggled and ignored the half-hearted accusation as she wrapped her arms around the pile of loot between them and pulled it towards her. "Nope. I'm just that good."

Sitting back on the couch, John stared at her, watching as she quickly sorted through the odd bits and pieces they were using for betting chips. His stomach did a sorry sort of flip as he watched her slip the shiny and nearly new utility knife into her pocket. _Damn! _That was the third one this deployment and he'd just gotten it broken in!

Reaching for the cards, he began shuffling them. Idly, haphazardly, eventually with more precision and a resounding _snap_ when the end of the pile was finished. "How do you do it?" he demanded after she popped a stick of the chewing gum into her mouth.

"Hmm?" Jane sat back in her chair, cracking the knuckles of her hands, rolling her shoulders and generally stretching her limbs that had been cramped into a scrunched up seated position for so long. _How long have they been out this time?_ she wondered. She wanted to see her mother. They were supposed to be making dinner together after her return from the mission to Mindoir was over. _Surely it should be over by now, right?_

"Four games in a row. That's just not right!"

Jane chuckled at John's petulant tone. "Sore loser much?" she suggested.

John growled and focused on the cards again.

Shrugging her shoulders, Jane leaned back in her seat. "I dunno," she told him honestly. "Dad taught me."

"He taught you poker before the age of eight?"

Jane pursed her lips into a thin line and threw a wrapped candy (butterscotch, her least favorite) at him. Without looking at it, John reached up and caught it. "How to remember what cards had been played already, you dope!"

John paused, opening the wrapper. Not his favorite, but it would do. "You'll have to teach me that trick sometime."

"Maybe."

Setting the cards flat on the table, John stretched his arms over his head. "Okay, what game this time?"

Jane sighed. "Well, seeing as we're eating _MY_ winnings," she pointed out, "maybe we'd better switch up games."

"Okay." John rose and crossed the room. "We've got checkers, backgammon, chess, or … Oh, jeez, Mom! Really?" His eyes rolled upwards to look at the ceiling.

Jane giggled. "What is it?"

Turning, he lifted the box to his chest and held it in both hands so she could see it. "_Candyland_."

Jane laughed harder and nearly rolled out of her chair and onto the floor. Clapping her hands together, she told him, "Oh, let's! Can you imagine our parents' faces when they walk in later and find us playing a little kids' game ….?"


	5. Waffling

_**writing prompt: "You should eat a waffle! You can't be sad if you eat a waffle!" This one is also loosely based off something that happened in real life.**_

* * *

She knew she was in trouble the minute she exited the cabin. With the galley just around the corner, it was nearly impossible to not notice. The gurgling rumble of her belly just served to confirm it … and alert the others.

"Hey, Commander!" Williams called out, waving Jane over to the table. "Come join us!"

Jane's eyes met John's across the room with a _Do I really have to?_ sort of pleading look which only made him grin and laugh. Right before he patted the seat of the chair next to him. Sighing, Jane walked over and took the seat. Figured. He was going to enjoy teasing her about this simply because he could. _Adorable jerk!_ "What's going on?"

"Waffles," John announced, nodding towards the kitchen area.

"LT is, it seems, an excellent cook," Williams explained.

"I believe the term I used was -"

"Gourmet," both Williams and John supplied for him. Jane couldn't help a small smile even though the thought of missing out on such a feast was depressing the hell out of her at the moment. How long had it been?

"So, what's with you?" John accompanied his question with an elbow nudge to her arm.

Jane threw a dark look up at him. "You know good and well what's wrong," she muttered.

From the galley, Alenko called over, obviously witnessing Jane's distress, "You should eat a waffle, Commander."

"Yeah," Williams chimed in. "You can't be sad if you eat a waffle!"

Jane sighed, dropping her face into her hands while John chuckled.

Williams glanced over at Alenko who shrugged. A moment later, he was delivering a series of plates to the table. And a bottle of maple syrup.

Jane shuddered, groaning even as her belly rumbled again.

"Did I miss something?" Williams asked while stretching towards the plate holding bacon.

"Jane can't eat waffles," John explained.

"Why not?" Alenko asked.

Jane glanced over at the LT, saw the scandalized look that crossed his face. "Because if you eat waffles," she reasoned, "you _must_ use maple syrup. Unless, of course, you are one of the very rare few who are allergic to maple syrup."

"And," John added while reaching for the syrup bottle, "waffles are your favorite food."

Jane's glare darkened. "Remind me why I married you again?"

John grinned, leaning over to kiss her cheek quickly before he began eating. "Damned if I know."

Sighing again, Jane pushed the plate Alenko had set before her in his direction. "Thanks for thinking of me, LT, but -"

"Wait a second."

Alenko hopped up from his seat and trotted back to the galley leaving Jane to look over at Williams and John with a startled expression but they just shrugged. Williams, who had been reaching for the syrup, paused to look at Jane and ask, "Bad allergic?"

Jane managed a smile and waved her on. "Go ahead, Chief. I just can't eat it. The smell I can live with."

Alenko returned then, setting a different bottle in front of Jane. As he sat down, he nudged the plate back towards her. "It would be a damned shame to waste good waffles, ma'am," he informed her before giving her a conspiratorial wink.

Jane blinked twice before glancing down at the label on the bottle. _Strawberry Syrup_.

"Well, I'll be damned," John muttered. Jane looked over at him. "Why didn't we ever think to try that before?"

"Canadian ingenuity, LT?" Williams suggested.

"Nah," he replied while reaching for a slice of bacon with one hand and the maple syrup with the other. Jane followed suit and snatched up a slice or two of bacon as well. Alenko then winked over at Jane and replied, "Survival skills 101. Can't survive in this world without waffles, Chief."

Laughing, Jane grinned over at the Lieutenant and lifted her waffle laden fork, tipping it towards him like she might while toasting a glass of champagne. "Hear hear!"


	6. I Brought Beer and Ice Cream

_**This is very loosely based off a story my Ex once told me - circumstances are different, but the beer milkshake, I am told, was quite real and has gone down in history since then. (Personally, I have no idea because I don't drink beer!)**_

* * *

"I brought the beer and ice cream."

Hunched over on the sofa, shoulders sagging dejectedly even as her forearms hung loosely between her legs, Jane didn't even bother to ask how he'd found out. It was probably best she didn't know, anyway. "Not now, John," she muttered.

Setting the items on the kitchen counter, he started hunting through the cupboards. "Wrong answer," he told her while reaching for the blender. "Trust me: Beer milkshakes make _every_thing better."

Jane groaned as her stomach tried to rebel at the idea. For years now, he'd been trying to get her to try one of his special concoctions. "John, seriously … not now."

Another series of clashes and clangs announced he had found the glasses and spoons. Moments later, the whirring of the blender began.

"Dammit, John!"

Rising to her feet, Jane vaulted herself over the back of the couch and stalked into the kitchen. "What part of 'not now' do you not understand?" she demanded.

He shoved a partially filled glass, complete with straw, into her hand. "The 'now,'" he quipped, lifting his own glass and clinking it against hers.

Jane's mouth opened, but all that escaped was a garbled, strangled, sputtering sound that more closely resembled a couple of cats fighting one another. "John -"

Setting his glass aside, John reached for her. She refused at first, stubbornly glaring up at him and pulling against the hold he had on her hand, but a minute later, agony won out and she sagged against him, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. Silently, she began shaking, the stress of the day finally finding release. Her body trembled from head to toe, limb to limb. John didn't even try to hide his grin when he joined in the laughter after a moment.

"Shit," she breathed some minutes later, pushing herself away and tilting her head up at him. "Beer milkshakes? Really?"

He shrugged. "Next time I'll bring vodka."

Grimacing, she nearly gagged at the thought. "Eww."

Reaching out, he grabbed her glass and handed it back to her. "Don't knock it until you try it," he suggested, taking his own glass in hand.

Sighing, because she knew he would never leave her alone until she did now that he'd gotten her this far, Jane took a tentative sip. Her eyes flew up to meet his and he laughed. "Wow."

His grin widened. "Didn't I tell you?" he asked.


End file.
